Steve Lewis passed away on Oct 2, 2023 after fighting a long and hard battle with cancer. Blue Mountain Region and the PHA have lost one of their most dedicated and productive members, as well as a very fast driver.
On a personal note, I think that Steve is possibly the bravest and most caring person I know. While he was dealing with more than I can ever imagine these last few months, he took the time on several occasions to see how I was doing and to encourage me while I was recovering from a C2 fracture.
I got to know Steve when I was setting up the first wireless timing system in 2010. Keith and I were running the system in parallel with the wired system, and I ended up having to set it up by myself for the first time at one of the Reading Hill Climb events. This was before PHA purchased the masts, so setup was a lot more time consuming. At that time, the masts were conduit with angle iron connecting them together, bungee corded to whatever we could find that would hold the contraption upright.
Steve helped with the physical setup, then went off to help other hill setup efforts. He drove by a bit later and noticed I was being hassled by a local resident while I was testing the system. The local was really upset that we were using 900 MHz as the timing data broadcast frequency. Given that I was using an off-the-shelf product from Race America, it wasn’t like I had a choice in the frequency. However the local was becoming increasingly frustrated by what he perceived as my unwillingness to change to a different one, and would not leave me alone. Much to my relief, Steve noticed the problem and chased him off!
But that was Steve. And while he could be a little rough around the edges, he was always the first person to step up whenever help was needed. And since he was competent in everything he did, his contributions made quite an impact for the better.
I’m sure I’m missing a lot, but here are some of the ways Steve was involved with the PHA and our events:
Steve was the assistant RE and secretary for the BMR region for the past several years, and he was at every BMR function helping out — cleanups, setups, work days, parties/banquets, etc.
Not content to just help out his region, he was the PHA Novice instructor for several years, and his novices still appreciate what they learned from him (and also tell some hilarious stories).
He is one of the few people who actually stepped up and helped me with event day timing setup of the old wireless system. He caught on so quickly that I trusted him to resolve race day hardware issues without me.
Steve then made it his mission to replace the original wireless timing system in order to reduce the amount of time needed to set up and tear down the antenna masts, etc. After spending several years researching many different systems, he succeeded in finding a system that would work at our hill climbs, and it is the system that PHA is using now.
NOTE: It’s actually pretty amazing that Steve found another system that worked as well as the Race America system. Our hillclimb events are at the far end of the spectrum as far as what most commercial systems are designed to do (distance between start and finish line as well as hill topography makes it hard for most timing systems to function at our events). In addition, I’m sure we all appreciate the fact that reruns are usually no longer needed when a false start or finish occurs, since the data can be retrieved and fixed thanks to the way the new system records all sensor trips.
After Nelson Kase passed in 2020, starting with the 2021 season, Steve and Nancy took over all timing operations. They ran the new system in parallel with the Race America system that first year for proof of concept (so were running 2 timing systems), and managed to race at every event except Spring Jefferson to boot!
At the events that Steve didn’t have a car ready, he came to the event and worked a corner. And when his car broke (or had an incident), he generally stuck around and worked.
Wow, this is getting long, and I still haven’t mentioned his racing achievements, which were many!
Steve started hill climbing in 2007 with his 2004 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that he ran in ESP. By the end of the his first season, he set his a class record at Fall Weatherly, and came in 8th overall.
Over the next few years, Steve moved the car to SM, and continued to set class records and place in the top 20 overall. In 2011, Steve joined the Duryea “under 2 minute club” with a 118.209, and then came in second overall at Duryea 2012 (where he was also under 2 minutes). The pattern continued until he had an incident at Duryea 2015 on his second run – incidentally, he was under 2 minutes on his first run at that event with a 116.581, placing 12th overall.
Steve returned to racing in 2017 with a 2017 Ford Mustang GT that he ran in ESP. That first season, he just missed being under 2 minutes at Duryea (he ran a 120.172), and beat the old class record at Fall Shenandoah (but did not get to keep it). He continued getting faster in the 2018 season, coming in first place in class all season. Unfortunately, his co-driver Nancy had an incident at Fall Shenandoah, and the 2017 Mustang was retired.
In 2019, he returned with a 2019 Ford Mustang that he also ran in ESP. His pattern of coming in first place in class continued. He also returned to the Duryea “Under 2 minute” club with a 117.104. He set his first class record with the new car at Fall Jefferson, and then again at Fall Shenandoah in 2021.
Note that after Nelson Kase passed in 2020, Steve (and Nancy) took over all timing operations. He raced all events but Spring Jefferson in 2021 while also operating timing. From personal experience, this is an impressive feat – timing takes a lot of concentration, and to go from intense concentration on timing to intense concentration on racing is not easy. I know that I was unwilling to do it.
Steve’s final racing season was 2021. He continued to set up timing and run timing operations in 2022 and 2023 until his health no longer allowed him to.
Today, Steve still holds the following class records:
- Spring Jefferson — ESP, set in 2022 with a 78.233
- Pagoda — SM, set in 2014 with a 80.109
- Giants Despair — SM, set in 2014 with a 44.540
- Duryea — SM, set in 2014 with a 112.297
- Fall Shenandoah — ESP, set in 2021 with a 93.464
The 2024 season is going to feel strange without Steve there. He will definitely be missed!
Steve’s obituary can be found here.